Goffstown football advances to D1 final with win over Bedford

GOFFSTOWN - When the Goffstown High School football team was moved up to Division I before the 2013 season, coach Justin Hufft had no idea what direction the program would be heading.

The Grizzlies were coming off a Division III title-game appearance in the last year of the six-division format, but would become one of the smallest schools in the new 20-team league.

After two years out of the postseason, Goffstown is headed back to a championship game.

The Grizzlies overcame a two-touchdown deficit in the first half and got a game-winning touchdown on a 70-yard run by Connor Bourque in the final two minutes to beat Bedford 24-17 in the D1 semifinals. The win sends Goffstown to the title game on Nov. 22, where it will face Exeter, which beat Pinkerton 10-0 in the other semifinal.

"It's great, especially because the kids stayed with it," Hufft said. "They're resilient kids, they've fought through a lot. They got bumped up two divisions two years ago when they were sophomores. They stayed with it and toughed it out and went up against the biggest (schools) in the state and hung with them. Here they are two years later and we’re going to the championship."

And Goffstown (11-0) did it Saturday with the defense leading the way.

Bedford's two touchdown drives covered a combined 10 yards, as each came after a botched snap on a punt by Goffstown turned the ball over deep in the Grizzlies' end. The Bulldogs had just 55 yards in the first half and finished the day with 134, a week after piling up 400 yards against Bishop Guertin.

"I thought our defense was outstanding," Hufft said. "They moved the ball at the end of the game, but even when they took over at midfield, I thought defensively, we played well. They have a size advantage and we have some quickness and we were able to get some guys free. We started tackling well and held firm."

Goffstown got 160 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 carries from Bourque, none bigger than his final one of the day. After Bedford had held the senior to nothing longer than 18 yards for almost two full games, Bourque burst for a 70-yard touchdown run with 1:36 to play, giving Goffstown a seven-point.

That score came moments after the Bulldogs tied the game at 17 on a 40-yard field goal by Cooper Anibal.

"Any time a talented back has the ball in his hand, you just want to see him on the ground as quick as possible," Bedford coach Derek Stank said. "He got outside of our guy and was able to crease it up the middle and as soon as he got outside of that last guy, it's lights out."

Bedford, which was trying to get to the final for the second year in a row, took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter after a high snap forced Goffstown's Jack Nordin to fall on the ball at his own 3-yard line. On the next play, Connor Robert scored to give the Bulldogs the lead with 11:00 left in the quarter.

The Bulldogs forced another punt, and again, the snap was high, forcing Nordin to jump for it. He slipped when he landed, putting his knee down at the 6-yard line. Goffstown almost held, but a sneak by Robert on fourth-and-goal from the 1 helped give Bedford a 14-0 lead with 8:12 to go in the first half.

"Stuff was getting downhill on us a little bit," Hufft said. "What I did notice, though, was that second time they got the ball, they barely scored on fourth down. We almost held them there and I was confident that we were playing with these guys. We were playing with them upfront, where they are bigger. I thought if we could just weather the storm, I thought we had a chance."

Goffstown answered the score with a 10-play, 68-yard drive that included a fourth-and-3 conversion from the Bedford 32-yard line. Casey Gervais hit Franklin Castillo Diaz over the middle for an 11-yard gain, and three plays later, Gervais hit Andrew Duval with a short pass over the middle that Duval turned into a 20-yard touchdown reception.

The Grizzlies held on defense and got the ball back at their own 35 with 1:32 to go in the first half. After Bourque converted a fourth-and-1 at midfield with a 3-yard run, Gervais connected with Pat Leahy on a 42-yard completion to give Goffstown a first down at the Bedford 10.

With 7.2 seconds left, Gervais tried to hit Duval in the end zone, but Bedford was flagged for pass interference, moving the ball to the 5-yard line. Hufft opted for a field goal and Sam Heidenreich's 22-yard kick was good, making it 14-10 Bedford at halftime.

"It was a really smart play by their kid to interfere because the ball goes only half the distance (to the goal line) to the 5, but there were only three seconds left," Hufft said. "I was encouraged with how we were playing. It felt like we were playing with them upfront, so I said let's get points on the board and I felt good about the third quarter."

The Grizzlies' first drive of the third stalled at the Bedford 44, but Nordin's punt was downed at the Bulldogs' 1-yard line. Bedford picked up a first down, but Anibal punted into the wind and Goffstown took over at the Bulldogs' 45-yard line.

Seven plays later, Gervais scored from a yard out to give Goffstown its first lead, 17-14, with 5:00 left in the third.

After driving past midfield on its next drive, Bedford played most of the second half on Goffstown's side of the field, but other than the game-tying field goal, had nothing to show for it.

"We felt we were doing what we needed to," Stank said. "They're fast and they flow. The energy they play with is very aggressive upfront. They're not afraid to bring a lot of guys into the box. You've got to be able to spread them out and that can be tough to do on a windy day."

Robert finished the day 8 of 15 for 48 yards and an interception, including throwing for minus-1 yard in the first half. Meanwhile, Gervais was 8 of 16 for 108 yards, despite not completing a pass in the second half.

Goffstown will face Exeter at 6 p.m. on Nov. 22 in the championship game at UNH. The teams didn't play during the regular season.

"It's going to be a battle and we're going to have to have an incredible week of preparation," Hufft said. "It's just a lot of fun. We're excited to be playing for one more week."